Can you feel beauty underlying aging in daily life Many travelers, either who come from domestic and abroad area, go to Kyoto, and they enjoy the atmosphere of old Japan from such as old temples, gardens covered by moss, tea ceremony, and cracked but elegant pottery. They have known there is ethical concept Wabi (侘び) and Sabi(寂び) behind such masterpieces. Wabi-Sabi is a concept that feels beauty in something imperfect, deserted, ruined, and aging. Can we feel Wabi-Sabi after the magic of Kyoto has disappeared when you go back to your daily life? When we have ruined something, we may not always feel it beautiful. For instance, now there are wilted flowers in a glass base on my desk. The leaves turned yellow and somewhere brown, and the petals dropped. It is not likely to be dry flowers, and will just go bad. I try to throw away, but still, let it be. Indeed, I didn't think the wilted flowers beautiful. I try to imagine that the wilted flowers on my table teleport to the Kyoto old temple, arranged in an elegant base. I may think, "Umm, it represents the transience of life". Actually, flower arrangement for tea ceremony, sometimes dead branches are used. It may be difficult to feel the beauty of Wabi-Sabi in daily life, but it might come true if there is the preparation of mind or devices (such as elegant base, interior with a good atmosphere). Enjoy your small Kyoto in your daily life.

Gardening to absorb heat in summer It's so hot. Resent the highest temperature in the day time is 35 to 37 celsius in Tokyo. Sunlight is harsh. To avoid the heat of the sunlight, people actively grow some green outside of the window in schools, companies, and homes, called "Green curtain". For Green curtain, it is better to use some plants that are tolerant of heat and grow well enough to cover whole the windows. Especially people like bitter gourd as Green curtain because it is "killing two birds with one stone": the plants absorb heat and also the fruits are edible. Bitter gourd is kind of vine, and the fruits are a little bit bitter and used as fries with pork. However, if you grow bitter gourd every summer, you may be getting bored. I recommend Horned melon (Kiwano) as another choice for Green curtain. It is easy to grow in a temperate region, such as Tokyo, you can get many fruits. The fruits have beautiful green jelly with a little bit sour and fresh flavor. I think that this plant is "killing THREE birds with one stone", because the first is absorb heat and the second is edible, and the third is security, that is, it has many small hard spines, and no one can touch the windows.

If you are in trouble in Japan: How foreigners get legal information? Imagine that you come from a country other than Japan, and start working in a Japanese company. However, unfortunately, the company has suddenly bankrupted, and your salary remains unpaid. In such a situation, you may get so nervous. Moreover, if you do not understand Japanse well, the situation is harder for you. You may be able to use English. However, in Japan, not all people can speak English well, and important announcements for administration, legal system, and emergency are often written by only Japanese. I always think if I could not understand Japanese well and in trouble, I would get so nervous. "Houterasu" is a system built by the Japanese government for people with Japanese address, the regular status of residence and lower income. People can get legal advice from lawyers and experts at no cost in Houterasu offices which is all over Japan. They have a call center and provide multilingual service, such as English, Chinese, Tagalog, and so on.

On an ancient tomb in Kamakura, Japan Kamakura is an ancient capital about 1000 years ago. There are many beautiful temples and gardens, so one of the famous spots for sightseeing, as well as Nara and Kyoto in Japan. What is the specific attractiveness of Kamakura that the other places never have? I think it is an atmosphere that comes from characteristic geology that is mainly composed of tuff. Tuff is a kind of stone that is soft and easy to process, therefore ancient people made many caves and tunnels in Kamakura. Especially ancient people often used the caves of tuff as a tomb. Kamakura is a narrow place enclosed by mountains by three sides and sea by the rest one side. Therefore Kamakura people were believed to be not able to make usual tombs in flat land, instead, they make tomb in the tuff wall outside of the city. The tombs in caves named "Yagura", and still you can see Yagura everywhere in Kamakura. For example, Mandara Yagura-do is one of the biggest aggregation of Yagura. This place is not always opened but 10 am to 4 pm every Saturday and Sunday (and also Monday if it is a public holiday) in a decided term. The next term is from October 19th to December 15th in 2019. The term and other detailed information are announced in HP of Zushi city of Kanagawa prefecture, and there are English pages in https://www.city.zushi.kanagawa.jp/global-image/units/125114/1-20181015105034.pdf. The charge for the entrance is free, but a donation may be recommended for maintenance of the heritage. Besides this Mandara Yagura-do, you can see many Yagura along hiking corse around Kamakura.

On an ancient tomb in Kamakura, Japan Kamakura is an ancient capital about 1000 years ago. There are many beautiful temples and gardens, so one of the famous spots for sightseeing, as well as Nara and Kyoto in Japan. What is the specific attractiveness of Kamakura that the other places never have? I think it is an atmosphere that comes from characteristic geology that is mainly composed of tuff. Tuff is a kind of stone that is soft and easy to process, therefore ancient people made many caves and tunnels in Kamakura. Especially ancient people often used the caves of tuff as a tomb. Kamakura is a narrow place enclosed by mountains by three sides and sea by the rest one side. Therefore Kamakura people were believed to be not able to make usual tombs in flat land, instead, they make tomb in the tuff wall outside of the city. The tombs in caves named "Yagura", and still you can see Yagura everywhere in Kamakura. For example, Mandara Yagura-do is one of the biggest aggregation of Yagura. This place is not always opened but 10 am to 4 pm every Saturday and Sunday (and also Monday if it is a public holiday) in a decided term. The next term is from October 19th to December 15th in 2019. The term and other detailed information are announced in HP of Zushi city of Kanagawa prefecture, and there are English pages in https://www.city.zushi.kanagawa.jp/global-image/units/125114/1-20181015105034.pdf. The charge for the entrance is free, but a donation may be recommended for maintenance of the heritage. Besides this Mandara Yagura-do, you can see many Yagura along hiking corse around Kamakura.

On the system of Japanese retaurants, Izakaya I heard foreigner have often confused when they go to Izakaya, which is Japanese style restaurants that provide alcohol and dishes. This is due to Otoshi, that is a Japanese-specific system. Otoshi is a small dish that is provided from a restaurant, nevertheless, you do not order. The restaurant charge the dish. People who do not know Otoshi system will confuse and say, "What is this?", "I do not order that". However, once you know the Otoshi system, you may get think you get a better deal. Especially you come from a country that has the custom to pay a tip. Otoshi can be interpreted as a tip system in Japan. Usually, you just pay a tip for their services, so you do not get any return from your tip, but in Otoshi, you can get a small dish in exchange for a tip. However, if Otoshi is not your favorites, you do not appreciate the system. I think Otoshi represents the quality of the restaurants: If I feel the Otoshi is not good, I will finish earlier and go to the next restaurant.